by Bob Nightengale and Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

by Bob Nightengale and Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

David Cornwell, the attorney who represents New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez in Major League Baseball's investigation of the Biogenesis clinic, accused baseball officials of unethical behavior Wednesday, prompting MLB to levy its own condemnation.

Cornwell, who also represents catchers Francisco Cervelli of the Yankees and Yasmani Grandal of the San Diego Padres in the investigation, told USA TODAY Sports that the information gathered by paying Biogenesis director Tony Bosch and associates is "irreparably tainted.''

"The conduct of Major League Baseball with the Tony Bosch investigation,'' Cornwell said, "is despicable, unethical and potentially illegal. Paying for evidence. Offering to pay for evidence. Intimidating witnesses.

"One thing we know: that evidence is unreliable. They have tainted the evidence beyond the point that you can rely on it, from their own conduct. And it's because of this hysterical reaction to the concept [that players procured performance-enhancing drugs from Bosch's anti-aging clinic].

"It's absurd.''

MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred said he welcomes the opportunity to unveil their findings. The league is preparing for what could be a protracted battle should it attempt to suspend players linked to Biogenesis.

"At the conclusion of this investigation we hope that there will be a full airing of what we have learned about what Mr. Cornwell and his clients have done,'' Manfred told USA TODAY Sports, "so that the public can decide who has behaved despicably, unethically and illegally.''

MLB has previously confirmed that it paid for records from Biogenesis, and Porter Fischer, an associate of Bosch's, told the Miami New Times that he was offered $125,000 by MLB for his sworn testimony and affidavit.

"Paid-for-evidence should never be in the same sentence,'' Cornwell said. "But their investigation is based on paid-for-evidence.''

The New Times story reported that Steven Gonzalez was the individual who offered the payout to Fischer.

"That allegation was corroborated in the Miami New Times,'' Cornwell said, "that reported that Steven Gonzalez offered to pay Porter Fischer $125,000 for his signature on an affidavit. Guess who Steven Gonzalez is? He's the lawyer for Major League Baseball flying around the country interviewing players whose names were in these documents.''

Major League Baseball is expected to conclude its interviews with players in the next two to three weeks, a high-ranking baseball official with direct knowledge of the investigation told USA TODAY Sports. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

Cornwell represented Milwaukee Brewers All-Star outfielder Ryan Braun in his successful appeal of his positive drug test in 2012, along with several prominent NFL players who ran afoul of that league's drug policy. He is the latest attorney who believes that testimony gathered from paid informants could be tainted.

"Anytime a witness comes to the table with financial demands they are vulnerable under cross-examination," New York criminal attorney Ben Brafman, who represented NFL receiver Plaxico Burress in his 2009 criminal case, told USA TODAY Sports recently. "And there will be a basis that undermines that credibility. If he has 'sold' the information to Major League Baseball, that by himself makes him very vulnerable to a vigorous cross-examination.

"I don't want to give Bosch legal advice, but some of the allegations he is making may well subject himself to civil and criminal liability. You do not get a complete legal free pass from the federal government just because Major League Baseball is involved."

San Francisco Giants player representative Jeremy Affeldt earlier said: "For me, the credibility of the witness has to be involved in this. These are pretty heavy suspensions coming down. If there's no proof, to be able to take our money away off of 'allegedly this' and 'allegedly that,' there's got to be 100% proof.

"Some of these guys that are on the list, these are millions of dollars that you're taking away from these players. It's not like a $5,000 fine."

MLB officials ultimately will have to determine whether their investigation will hold up in front of independent arbitrator Fredric Horowitz.

"If there are issues of credibility,'' said Shyam Das, fired two months after his 2012 ruling in favor of Braun, "not just in sports, but like any judge where you don't have a jury, you have to decide whose testimony is credible. As an arbitrator, you have to evaluate a witness's testimony or documents.''